Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is paying an official visit to Greece after spending four days in London. Li met Thursday with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens, with both sides agreeing to advance bilateral ties and cooperation.

After the meeting, China and Greece signed 19 cooperation agreements worth some US$4.8 billion. The largest deal was between China Development Bank and the Greek shipping company Costamare and was valued at US$1.5 billion.

Meanwhile, maritime cooperation between China and Greece has been an important topic as well during Li’s visit. The premier called for more investment in the Piraeus Container Terminal project at Greece's largest port, which is jointly run by Chinese shipping giant COSCO and the Greek port authority.